JUSTICE · CUBA
Key Facts
- —The country Cuba is a one-party communist state. People who criticise the government online can face police summonses and, in some cases, criminal charges.
- —What happened On 2 October Anna Bensi, 21, told CubaNet how her 1 October trial unfolded. She and her mother each received two years of “limitation of liberty”, a non-custodial sentence.
- —Who is involved Bensi; her mother, Caridad Silvente; an Interior Ministry officer who filed a private complaint; defence lawyer Roberto Ortega; and Judge Zamira Marrero Morgado.
- —What it means for you Neither woman goes to prison. Both need court permission to move house or leave their municipality, and their lawyer says they cannot leave Cuba (OnCuba, 3 October).
- —Still open The written ruling had not been delivered when Bensi spoke on 2 October. The appeal deadline only starts once it is served.
The Anna Bensi trial in Havana lasted a single day, and the 21-year-old content creator has now described it from the inside. She gave her account to the independent outlet CubaNet in an interview published on 2 October.
The verdict came on Thursday 1 October (Cuba Gives Influencer and Mother Non-Custodial Terms, 2 October). Her account, relayed by Periódico Cubano, adds what happened behind closed doors and outside the court.
Inside the courtroom, step by step
Bensi said she and her mother, Caridad Silvente, testified first, as the accused. The complainant spoke next: a non-commissioned officer of the Interior Ministry, which runs Cuba’s police.
The March video was then played as evidence for the accusation, she said. The complainant’s witnesses followed.
A psychologist testified for the defence about a clinical record the officer had submitted. After a recess the lawyers argued, and the court withdrew again to deliberate.
Judge Zamira Marrero Morgado then announced the verdict orally. “We still have not had the written document,” Bensi told CubaNet.
What each side asked for
According to Bensi, the officer himself wanted a public apology video. His lawyer asked for two years in prison for her and two years of limitation of liberty for her mother.
The court chose the non-custodial penalty for both women. “Obviously, if I don’t agree with the trial, imagine with the sentence,” Bensi said.
She said the family was “very satisfied” with their lawyer, Roberto Ortega. The defence had asked for the case to be annulled, but the judge refused, Periódico Cubano reported.
No public prosecutor took part. Under Article 394 of the penal code, only the person affected can bring this privacy charge, CubaNet noted.
Article 393 sets six months to two years in prison or a fine, according to CubaNet. Posting the material on social networks raises the range to one to three years.
Arrests outside the Anna Bensi trial
For Bensi, the hardest moment came outside the courtroom. “I felt useless, I felt tied up,” she said of the arrest of a pastor who had come to support them.
The pastor, Rolando Pérez Lora, known as Pregonero de Cristo, told CubaNet he was handcuffed for more than two hours. A Baptist youth leader, David Espinosa Martínez, said police detained him over an alleged theft of tricycle parts.
Espinosa denied the accusation and said he was let go only after the hearing ended. Members of the youth group Fuera de la Caja reported patrols outside their homes, CubaNet said.
Dozens of people still reached the court, among them a nun and a Catholic priest. “It was moving, I am very grateful,” Bensi said.
Washington and Havana respond
On 2 October Juan Pablo Segura, the US assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, called the sentence unjust on X. He demanded the release of those detained around the trial, OnCuba and Periódico Cubano reported.
His post described the penalty as two years of house arrest. The court’s actual sanction, limitation of liberty, involves no detention but sets limits on movement and residence.
Cuba’s Interior Ministry says the case concerns publication, not filming. “Filming is not a crime; spreading it without consent can be,” it posted on the day of the trial, OnCuba reported.
A day after the trial, police detained a lone protester at the Capitolio (Cuba Police Detain Man at Capitol Protest in Havana). It was a separate case.
What Is Not Yet Known
The written ruling had not been served when Bensi spoke to CubaNet. Ortega has said the appeal deadline runs from that notification.
Bensi said after the hearing that they would wait for the written ruling to appeal, El Estornudo reported. Her description of the closed hearing is not independently confirmed. The court has published no account of the proceedings.
Cuban authorities had made no public comment on the detentions of Pérez Lora and Espinosa in the reports cited.
Sources: CubaNet, interview with Anna Bensi, David Espinosa and Rolando Pérez Lora, 2 October 2026; Periódico Cubano, Anna Bensi reveals details of her trial, 2 October 2026; Periódico Cubano, Bensi after the verdict, 2 October 2026; Periódico Cubano, US reaction, 2 October 2026; OnCuba, US official calls for release, 3 October 2026; El Estornudo, Anna Bensi never expected a fair trial, 1 October 2026. All retrieved 3 October 2026.
This article was drafted with automated assistance and reviewed before publication. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief